Surgical procedures are often performed by skilled individuals, such as surgeons. Surgeons can perform various surgical procedures based upon their training and past experience, augmented by study of a particular patient. Nevertheless, various portions of a particular patient may be difficult to examine or identify depending upon the area of the anatomy to be examined and the positioning of the patient.
The anatomical structures surrounding the cervical and thoracic ganglia, for example, comprise various critical structures in close proximity to the ganglia. The anatomy surrounding the cervical and thoracic ganglia presents a number of complications potentially associated with access to the ganglia, some of which can be life threatening.
Surgical techniques used to access and treat the cervical and thoracic ganglia (e.g., nerve blockade) have evolved from the use of the standard blind technique to computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and radionuclide tracers. These techniques are not practical in clinical practice, however, as they are time consuming, cost-ineffective, and involve radiation exposure. Newer approaches, such as fluoroscopy present a reliable technique for identifying bony structures during surgical access to the cervical and thoracic ganglia. Fluoroscopy cannot, however, identify soft tissue anatomical structures adjacent to bony structures. Consequently, inadvertent needle placement into the vertebral artery, thyroid, thyroid vessels, neural tissues, pleura/lung, or esophagus can occur when using fluoroscopy to access the cervical and/or thoracic ganglia.